Rambus, Qualcomm Team Up to Make Phones More Secure

A new end-to-end security platform from Rambus includes an integrated security core for mobile SoCs and a "black box" for protecting IP on the manufacturing floor.

Rambus this week introduced CryptoManager, a new end-to-end security platform for makers of mobile processors which includes a silicon-based security core and various safeguards for protecting IP and data breaches.

The chip design firm also announced a big customer win right out of the gateQualcomm, the market leader in chip design for mobile devices like smartphones and tablets.

Cryptography Research, a division of Rambus, is the brain trust behind CryptoManager. The platform includes the new CryptoManager Security Engine, which is a silicon core for mobile System-on-a-Chip (SoC) products, providing "a hardware root-of-trust for the secure provisioning, configuration, keying, and authentication of SoCs during chip and device manufacturing," Rambus said.

The full CryptoManager offering also includes a rigorous combination of technologies and services designed to protect fabless semiconductor design and fully secure their SoC designs during the manufacturing process, mainly by securing cryptographic key distribution.

At the heart of the offering is a "black box" appliance which Rambus customers can install at foundries where their chips are being manufactured. The appliance provides customers with tools for securing in-factory operations and includes "management systems for protecting the distribution of authorization and cryptographic keys throughout the chip manufacturing processes" which can be managed offsite via a secure Internet connection.

Rambus is also pitching its full suite of CryptoManager solutions as a means for customers to streamline other parts of the manufacturing process beyond security, like making chip customization more efficient.

"SoC manufacturing is increasingly complicated and expensive. The ongoing demand for improved time-to-market and lack of visibility during the complicated manufacturing process restricts the ability to quickly respond to dynamic market conditions for new features," Paul Kocher, president and chief scientist for the Rambus Cryptography Research division, said in a statement. "The CryptoManager platform can dramatically change the chip manufacturing process by helping chip and handset makers tackle the security challenges of future mobile devices, allowing for a secure foundation for our connected lives."

Qualcomm has licensed the full CryptoManager security and feature management platform. The mobile chip giant will be integrating the CryptoManager Security Engine in future mobile application processors.

"Our dedication to security is a key component in our ongoing efforts to enable our customers to create innovative and trusted mobile devices," said Raj Talluri, senior vice president of product management for Qualcomm subsidiary Qualcomm Technologies. "The CryptoManager platform will help provide us with a secure solution that can manage silicon features, provision secret keys, and help our customers manage sensitive data and content on mobile devices."

Damon Poeter got his start in journalism working for the English-language daily newspaper The Nation in Bangkok, Thailand. He covered everything from local news to sports and entertainment before settling on technology in the mid-2000s. Prior to joining PCMag, Damon worked at CRN and the Gilroy Dispatch. He has also written for the San Francisco Chronicle and Japan Times, among other newspapers and periodicals.
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